Admittedly, I’m not well-versed in either Israeli politics or maritime convention, but can someone please explain to me how this isn’t a massive violation of international law, because it sure seems like it (via New York Times):
The Israeli Navy raided a flotilla carrying thousands of tons of supplies for Gaza in international waters on Monday morning, killing at least 10 people, according to the Israeli military and activists traveling with the flotilla. Some Israeli media reports put the death toll higher.
[...]
The Israeli Defense Forces said more than 10 people were killed when naval personnel boarding the six ships in the aid convoy met with “live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs.” The naval forces then “employed riot dispersal means, including live fire,” the military said in a statement.
Greta Berlin, a leader of the pro-Palestinian Free Gaza Movement, speaking by telephone from Cyprus, rejected the military’s version.
“That is a lie,” she said, adding that it was inconceivable that the civilian passengers on board would have been “waiting up to fire on the Israeli military, with all its might.”
“We never thought there would be any violence,” she said.
I’m inclined to believe the Free Gaza Movement, not out of any particular sympathy, but because I can’t imagine an aid ship deliberately provoking Israeli commandos with small arms fire. That said, I’m sure investigations will happen, and with any hope, will get the full story.
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